Chapter 4
Detective Ortiz did not handcuff Rachel in front of Mia.
That was the only kindness the night offered.
Dana stayed with Mia while Rachel was taken to the station.
Rachel kept turning back until the elevator doors closed between them.
At the station, the questions came quickly.
When had she last seen Daniel?
Had they argued?
Had he discussed divorce?
Did she have access to prescription medication?
Why had her fingerprints been found on the bottle?
That last question silenced her.
“My fingerprints?”
“On the cap.”
Rachel closed her eyes.
Three weeks earlier, Claire had visited the house complaining of a migraine.
She had pulled a bottle from her purse.
The cap had been stuck.
She had asked Rachel to open it.
Rachel remembered laughing as she twisted it free.
She remembered handing it back.
It had been a different bottle.
Or she had thought it was.
“Claire put my fingerprints on it.”
Ortiz sat across from her.
“You understand how that sounds.”
“She planned this.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know the whole reason yet. Daniel found suspicious transfers from the family trust. Then he vanished.”
Ortiz leaned back.
“You believe this is about money?”
“I believe Claire and Judith are terrified of whatever Daniel discovered.”
“And the family attorney?”
“He locked Daniel’s email and removed a briefcase from Claire’s shed.”
“We haven’t confirmed that.”
“Check traffic cameras. His SUV was at Claire’s property.”
Ortiz tapped his pen against the table.
“Grant Holloway says he drove directly to the hospital.”
“Then he is lying.”
Rachel’s phone and purse had been taken.
She had no way to contact Mia.
No way to know whether Daniel was still alive.
Two hours passed.
Then the door opened.
A woman in a navy suit walked in.
She had dark hair, sharp eyes, and an expression that suggested she had no patience for lies.
“My name is Naomi Price. Anna called me.”
“Daniel’s assistant?”
“She said you needed a lawyer.”
Rachel almost cried from relief.
Naomi sat beside her.
“Do not answer another question until I review the evidence.”
Ortiz left the room.
Naomi lowered her voice.
“Anna is safe. She gave me a flash drive.”
“What’s on it?”
“Copies of three transfers Daniel was investigating. Nearly four million dollars moved from the Mercer family trust into companies that don’t appear to exist.”
“Who approved them?”
“Judith and Daniel.”
“Daniel wouldn’t steal from his own company.”
“His signatures may be forged.”
“Like the divorce papers.”
Naomi nodded.
“The money ultimately passed through an account controlled by Grant Holloway.”
Rachel’s hope rose.
“Then we can prove this.”
“Eventually. But right now, the police have a poisoned husband, a divorce filing that paints you as unstable, and medication with your fingerprints.”
“Mia saw Claire and Judith.”
“Mia is four. Their lawyers will argue that you influenced her.”
Rachel’s hands curled into fists.
“Where is she?”
“With Dana Brooks at the hospital. Child services is arranging emergency placement.”
“With whom?”
Naomi hesitated.
“Judith petitioned for temporary custody.”
“No.”
“She claims Claire has gone home.”
“Mia said Judith watched from the car.”
“I know.”
“Stop them.”
“I filed an objection. Dana supports us. But a judge will decide in the morning.”
Rachel stood.
“I am not spending the night here while Judith takes my child.”
“Sit down.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“I believe you. But if you leave without authorization, they will use it against you.”
Naomi placed both hands on the table.
“We win by staying calm and finding facts.”
Rachel forced herself back into the chair.
“What facts can save Daniel tonight?”
Naomi slid a paper toward her.
“His toxicology report.”
Rachel scanned the numbers.
She didn’t understand them.
“The amount of sedative in his blood increased after admission,” Naomi said.
Rachel looked up.
“What?”
“The first test showed a moderate dose. A second test, eight hours later, showed almost twice as much.”
“That means someone gave him more at the hospital.”
“Yes.”
“Claire or Judith.”
“Possibly.”
“Does Ortiz know?”
“He does now.”
The door opened.
Ortiz entered with Dr. Cole.
The doctor appeared exhausted.
“I reviewed every medication administered to Daniel,” he said. “The additional sedative was not ordered.”
“Someone is keeping him unconscious,” Rachel said.
Dr. Cole nodded.
“We moved him to a restricted room. Only medical staff can enter.”
“Will he wake up?”
“We stopped all sedating medication. If there is no permanent damage, he should regain consciousness.”
Naomi looked at Ortiz.
“You no longer have grounds to hold my client.”
Ortiz placed Rachel’s belongings on the table.
“The district attorney agrees.”
Rachel stood so quickly her chair scraped the floor.
“I’m going back to the hospital.”
Dr. Cole stopped her.
“There is another problem.”
Rachel’s heart sank again.
“What happened?”
“Daniel is gone.”
The room became silent.
“What do you mean, gone?”
“His bed was empty when we moved to secure the floor.”
Rachel stared at him.
“He was on a breathing machine.”
“He had begun breathing independently. Someone removed his monitors and transferred him to a wheelchair.”
“Who?”
“A person wearing hospital scrubs.”
“Security cameras?”
“Disabled for eleven minutes.”
Naomi looked at Ortiz.
“This was organized.”
Ortiz was already on his phone.
Rachel grabbed her coat.
“I’m finding Mia.”
They drove to the hospital.
Dana met them in the lobby.
She was alone.
“Where is my daughter?” Rachel demanded.
Dana’s face was tight.
“Judith had an emergency court order.”
“You let her take Mia?”
“I objected. The judge approved temporary placement until tomorrow’s hearing.”
Rachel felt sick.
“She watched Claire put Mia in that pit.”
“I included Mia’s statement in my report.”
“But you still handed her over?”
“I had no legal choice.”
Naomi touched Rachel’s arm.
“We’ll go to Judith’s house.”
Judith lived behind iron gates on forty acres north of town.
By the time they arrived, two police cars were already there.
Judith met them at the door.
Her red coat was gone.
She wore a pale sweater and an expression of offended innocence.
“Mia is asleep.”
Rachel pushed past her.
“Where?”
“You cannot enter without permission.”
Ortiz held up the order.
“We’re conducting a welfare check.”
Judith’s home was too quiet.
Rachel called Mia’s name.
No answer.
She ran upstairs.
Empty guest room.
Empty nursery.
Empty bathroom.
Then she heard a faint tapping behind a closed door at the end of the hall.
It was locked.
“Mia?”
“Mommy!”
Rachel struck the door with both hands.
“Open it!”
Judith stayed at the other end of the hallway.
“She locked herself in there.”
Rachel turned.
“The lock is on the outside.”
Ortiz examined it.
Then he ordered Judith to provide a key.
She claimed she didn’t have one.
Ortiz forced the door.
Mia was sitting on the floor of a dark storage room.
She rushed into Rachel’s arms.
“I knew you’d come.”
Rachel held her so tightly that Mia squeaked.
“I’m sorry, baby.”
“Grandma said you went away.”
“I will never leave you.”
Mia pointed toward the wall.
A small monitor sat on a cabinet.
It showed four security camera feeds.
One displayed the front gate.
One showed the kitchen.
One showed an empty basement room.
The fourth showed Daniel.
He was lying on a narrow bed.
His eyes were closed.
A man in blue medical scrubs stood beside him.
Rachel moved closer.
“Where is that?”
Mia pointed to the basement feed.
“Grandma watches Daddy.”
Ortiz grabbed Judith.
“Where is your son?”
“I don’t know.”
Rachel studied the background behind Daniel.
Dark wood walls.
A stone fireplace.
A painting of a sailboat.
She had seen that room before.
It was not in Judith’s house.
It was at the Mercer family’s lake property.
A house two hours away.
Claire had spent every summer there as a child.
Naomi saw the recognition on Rachel’s face.
“You know that room.”
Rachel nodded.
Then the man beside Daniel turned toward the camera.
It was Grant Holloway.
He reached up.
The video disappeared.
A second later, Rachel’s phone rang.
Claire’s name flashed across the screen.
Rachel answered.
May you like
Claire spoke softly.
“If you want Daniel alive, bring me the hospital bracelet and come alone.”
